Hi, my name is hercules! I am in a tricky situation with my 84 year old mother

hercules
hercules Online Community Member Posts: 2 Listener
edited October 2023 in Housing and independent living
I have been advised to join this group so thank you for having me. I am in a tricky situation with my 84 year old mother who is a permanent wheelchair user and I am unable to get social housing for her needs for 2 years. Now I have a potential home for her, in sheltered accommodation run by Sefton Council (Merseyside). The entrance to her accommodation is by a heavy fire door, which she does not have  the upper body strength to push. I have begged the landlord (One Vision Housing) to find some way of adapting the fire door, their response is negative saying they cannot, by law, make adaptations to a fire door, due to government regulations. Has anybody else here encountered this problem and over come it? I also would like some legal advice, if anybody has it, if by not adapting the fire door this counts as disability discrimination .......Any thoughts or suggestions would be  very welcome

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  • hercules
    hercules Online Community Member Posts: 2 Listener
    Dear all, thank you for this opportunity to share my experience and ask for advice, as quite frankly I  am at my wits end. My 84 year old mother became a permanent wheelchair user almost 2 years ago. She left hospital in January 2023 and has effectively been homeless since then, the council deemed her original property unadaptable and has self funded in care homes since, whilst awaiting adapted council property. She is fully cognitively aware and desperate to live indpendently and does not need to be in residential at all - she has spent all of her disposable income on care. We have signed up to an adaptable property through Property Pool Plus - landlord is One Vision Housing. However we are just about  to have tenancy revoked as mum does not have the strength to open and close heavy fire door - entrance to flat. I have pleaded with OVH to make some adaptation to the fire door, which they are refusing to do............as it is a fire door and government regulations mean that it cannot be changed. I am not asking to change it, just to modify it and  OVH are as intrasigent as ever. Has anybody experienced this scenario? Is there any one with legal knowledge who could advise me as to whether this could be classed as discriminatory action by the landlord? Any advice would be  really welcomed
  • Hannah_Alumni
    Hannah_Alumni Scope alumni Posts: 7,866 Championing
    Hello @hercules

    Welcome to the community! :) I have merged your two threads and popped this thread in the housing and independent living section of the forum. Hopefully more people will be able to see :) 

    In terms of adaptations. I understand that each fire point needs to have audible and visual alarms. I wonder if they could adapt it so she can press a button for it to open for her? or maybe scan a card or input a code thinking of extra safety reasons.

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